Who We Are
Vancouver's BRAVEST,
Always REady to Step Up
IAFF Local 18 is the union representing 880 fire fighters in Vancouver, BC. The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) has been advocating for fire fighter rights and safety worldwide for a century. We proudly stand for our members and work with IAFF and IAFF Canada on issues impacting fire fighters across North America.
While every fire fighter faces risks on the job, we are committed to mitigating these dangers by advocating for robust work standards, enhanced resources, and the reduction of hazards that our members face.
Two recent examples include successfully advocating for improved cancer protection for fire fighters, and ensuring that the municipal government fulfilled their commitment to fully fund our department with the resources recommended in the independently researched DarkHorse report.
Our members are rigorously trained, and include specialists in mechanics, education, medical assistance, fire boat operation, and more. To discover more about our work, visit Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services.
The City of Vancouver’s website has information about applying for fire fighter jobs with Vancouver Fire Rescue Services. Contact Vancouver Fire Rescue Services for more details.
We’re incredibly proud of the contributions our members make to the Vancouver community. Explore the Vancouver Fire Fighters Charity for more details.
Our colleagues at Vancouver Fire Rescue Services are your best contact for fire safety.
IAFF has a proud history of representing fire fighters across North America. We are part of the tradition of advocating for better rights, benefits, safety measures, and protections for the brave people fighting fires in this city. To see some of the things we’re working on check out our issues page or the news section.
We’re so glad you asked. Check out this fantastic website, made by fellow fire fighters, to help navigate the mental health challenges specific to our work.
CPR + FIRST-AID PROGRAM
Our program teaches life saving CPR + first-aid to over 3,000 people each year. We have courses from a 15 minute ‘chest-compression CPR’ skills seminar to professional firefighter first-aid (First-responder) courses. In partnership with the Heart & Stroke Foundation of B.C. and Yukon and the Canadian Red Cross we are able to provide many different types of CPR + first-aid courses at all levels.
Some of our courses:
- Save Somebody’s Life – Simple skills to handle just about any emergency that you can learn in just over an hour. (This is our most popular course)
- CPR Certification – Level A (for patients 8yrs and older) or level C (for patients of all ages). Comprehensive skills for medical emergencies including use of ‘AED’s, or Automatic External Defibrillators. Includes a short written test and all students receive a certificate.
- CPR For Life – A 15 minute ‘chest-compression CPR’ seminar designed for presentation to large groups at meetings or seminars.
- Occupational First-aid (OFA) Level I – Worksafe B.C. approved course for OFA Level I attendants. This course is 8 hours and all successful students receive a Worksafe B.C. certificate good for two years.
- First-Responder Level 3 – Red Cross First-Responder is approved by the B.C. EMA licensing board for licensing in B.C. First-responder is the level of certification required by all firefighters in B.C.